On Thursday, June 4, 2026, the second annual Podkrušnohorský Fair of Fictitious Companies took place, in the organization of which the Innovation Center of the Ústí nad Labem Region (ICÚK) participated as a partner for the second time. The event was organized together with the Hotel School, the Business Academy and the Secondary Industrial School in Teplice (HŠ, OA and SPŠ Teplice). The event offered secondary school students the opportunity to try out the operation of their own company in a safe environment that faithfully copies the real market — from founding a company through product creation and marketing to sales and crisis decision-making.

The purpose of the fictitious company fair is to transfer entrepreneurship from school to practice. During the year, students build a fictitious company that operates according to the same rules as a real business: it has its own product range, business strategy, visual identity and a team with divided roles. The fair is the culmination of this work and a place where high school students present their companies. they present, trade and compare themselves with the competition. The program started at 9:30 with the opening ceremony, followed by morning trading with elementary school students in the role of buyers. At the same time, the evaluation of the expert jury across the competition categories took place. The afternoon included the screening of the competition reels and the announcement of the results from 1:45 p.m.

For high school students in the role of exhibitors, the fair has tangible benefits. They learn present your product to customers and investors, respond to questions and objections, communicate in a foreign language and cope with situations that regular teaching does not simulate. The competition categories were set to cover key business competencies: the students tried to film a company reel as a digital invitation to their own stand, manage a company's Instagram profile, handle a model crisis situation under time pressure, establish a strategic partnership with another company, think through the ecological concept of their business and convince the jury in an English elevator pitch. The highest award — TOP real company — was then awarded to the team whose concept was best prepared for a real market entry and had a clearly defined competitive advantage. The participants thus gained the experience that success does not depend on one idea, but on the ability to connect product, communication, finance and team into one functional unit.

She was equally valuable the role of elementary school students, who came to the fair as buyers. For them it was about first contact with the world of business from the customer's position. They learned to manage the entrusted funds, compare offers, ask about the features of products and decide who to entrust their "spending". For high school students, these younger visitors represented a real customer test: only those who can explain their product clearly and attract attention can sell. Both parties thus met on opposite ends of a business relationship in one day, and each took away a different, but equally useful insight.

The event thus develops entrepreneurship, creativity and practical competences of young people in the Ústí nad Labem Region and strengthens the transformation potential of the region. Supporting entrepreneurial thinking at the level of primary and secondary schools is one of the long-term priorities of ICÚK, which sees the education of a new generation of independent and self-confident people as one of the pillars of the future development of the region. ICÚK's participation in the fair for the second time confirms that this is an event with growing importance and a firm place in the regional calendar.

For more information, see also on the website of the fair itself.

RESULTS IN INDIVIDUAL CATEGORIES

BEST BUSINESS REEL (short video)

1. Velvetskin, sro – Hotel School, Business Academy and Secondary Industrial School Teplice, after

2. Greenbox, sro – Higher Vocational School of Economics, Social Sciences and Health, Business Academy, Secondary Pedagogical School and Secondary Medical School, Most, contributory organization

3. OpenTrip, sro – Hotel School, Business Academy and Secondary Industrial School Teplice, after.

Assignment: Create a short video (max. 60 seconds) that introduces the company's identity, its main product or service, and the team behind it. The Business Reel should act as a digital invitation to your booth and show the "real vision" of your business.

BEST INSTAGRAM PROFILE

1. At the Paw, sro – Hotel School, Business Academy and Secondary Industrial School Teplice, after.

2. Xposure, sro – Business Academy and Language School with the right to state language exams, Ústí nad Labem, contributory organization

3. Experience It, sro – Higher Vocational School of Economics, Social Sciences and Health, Business Academy, Secondary Pedagogical School and Secondary Medical School, Most, contributory organization

Evaluation: visual style, quality of posts and stories, interaction.

BEST CRISIS MANAGEMENT

1. OpenTrip, sro – Hotel School, Business Academy and Secondary Industrial School Teplice, after.

2. Hop & Go, sro – Hotel School, Business Academy and Secondary Industrial School Teplice, after.

3. CollaBrium, sro – Business Academy and Secondary Vocational School of Agriculture and Ecology, Žatec, after.

Task: Teams will be given a model situation (e.g. supplier outage, negative influencer review, sudden increase in energy prices). They will then have 5 minutes to briefly discuss and propose a solution.

BEST STRATEGIC NETWORKING

1. VitaHealth, sro – Higher Vocational School of Economics, Social Sciences and Health, Business Academy, Secondary Pedagogical School and Secondary Medical School, Most, contributory organization

2. VitaRush, sro – Hotel School, Business Academy and Secondary Industrial School Teplice, after.

3. OneTrip, sro – Hotel School, Business Academy and Secondary Industrial School Teplice, after.

Assignment: The goal is to establish contact, find a partner among the exhibiting companies with whom it makes sense to cooperate. The companies must identify common interests, propose a specific form of cooperation and then present it together to the jury.

BEST GREEN BUSINESS

1. Dress company sro – Secondary School of Commerce and Services, Teplice, contributory organization

2. Move It sro – Business Academy and Language School with the right to state language exams, Ústí nad Labem, contributory organization  

3. WorldWideWear, sro – Business Academy and Secondary Vocational School of Agriculture and Ecology, Žatec, after.

Evaluation: overall ecological concept of the company, materials used in the stand and long-term sustainability strategy.

BEST ELEVATOR PITCH IN ENGLISH

1. Xposure, sro – Business Academy and Language School with the right to state language exams, Ústí nad Labem, contributory organization

2. VitaHealth, sro – Higher Vocational School of Economics, Social Sciences and Health, Business Academy, Secondary Pedagogical School and Secondary Medical School, Most, contributory organization

3. VitaRush, sro – Hotel School, Business Academy and Secondary Industrial School Teplice, after.

Assignment: One company representative must convince the jury, as a potential investor, of the quality and potential of the company in English. The originality of the offer and the level of expression in English will be evaluated.

TOP REAL COMPANY

VitaRush, sro - Hotel School, Business Academy and Secondary Industrial School Teplice, after.

Assignment: The main prize will be awarded to the most realistic fictitious company of the fair. The goal is to select the TOP fictitious company that has a clearly defined competitive advantage and whose concept is best prepared for real market entry. Only companies that participate in all competition categories can participate.

EXPERT JURY

Mgr. Pavlina Balasova

She began her career as a teacher of Czech language and literature. Today she works in the field of marketing and public communications. She manages social networks, creates communication strategies and oversees email marketing for the statutory city of Teplice.

Andrea Bednářová, Ing.

Managing Director of ENVIRICONT sro Since 1998, she has been helping companies provide comprehensive services in the field of corporate ecology and integrated management systems.

Mgr. Petr Bláha, Ph.D.

Petr Bláha is a political scientist and head of the Department of Political Science and Philosophy at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Prague in Ústí nad Labem. His research focuses on democracy, populism, political representation, and contemporary politics in Central Europe.

Bc. Fabián Richter

Boxer, event manager at the Innovation Center of the Ústí nad Labem Region and influencer.

Ing. Lukas Hula

Specialist at the National Pedagogical Institute of the Czech Republic. Coordinator of the Center for Fictitious Companies for the Czech Republic.

Ing. Simona Indrišeková

She feels at home in the banking sector. She has experience in business, management, communication and marketing. She currently works as a regional manager at Creditas as bank.

Daniil Greg Komendant

Multilingual CRM and marketing specialist and UJEP student. Currently working at Amber Plasma, where he helps build digital communication, loyalty programs, and acquisition campaigns across the Czech Republic.

Bc. Matouš Kostomlatský

Innovator. Inventor. Problem solver. Startup co-founder. Rower. I run a non-profit. I talk about mental health. Education coordinator at the Innovation Center. Co-project manager of an international project in energy.

Vojtech Kriechenbauer

He began his career in the hotel industry as a receptionist. Today he works as a PR specialist at Nestlé Krupka. He manages the plant's internal and external communications.

Chris Malherbe

South African/Canadian trainer, coach, and consultant since 1994, specializing in sales, communication, leadership, and intercultural competence. He holds a Master's degree in Occupational Psychology and a Doctor of Business Administration. In addition to his training and coaching work, he lectures in psychology and business skills at various universities.

Šárka Petrová

Marketing specialist at the Innovation Center of the Ústí nad Labem Region, Corporate Services Manager at AMAZINC! sro and MCB Lab sro.

Sarka Pokorna

HR Business Partner of Agentura Čechy Sever, Kooperativy pojišťovny, as, Vienna Insurance Group, with experience in recruitment, labor law and employee development. In his work, he focuses on the practical functioning of HR and working with people in everyday practice.

Mgr. Jan Růžička

He began his career as a high school teacher at the Gymnasium. Today he works in the field of human resources as a Human Resources Manager at Nestlé Krupka.

Jan Sedlacek

Marketing manager at the Innovation Center of the Ústí nad Labem Region, ex-brand manager of Foodora, administrator of the Czech Netflix subpage, launch campaign for Doritos, one of the creators of the podcast Přírození.

Jan Wedlich

Jan works as a development manager at the Svět school. He is in charge of innovation and strategic direction of the school, its promotion and development of external relations. For several years, he worked as a project manager at the Innovation Center of the Ústí nad Labem Region, where he supported companies and startups in their launch.

➡️ The activity was financed from the RUR project - Region to University, University of the Region, registration number CZ.10.02.01/00/22_002/0000210 within the framework of the Operational Programme Just Transformation, sub-activity KA1 A.2.37.